SACRAMENTO -- The Kings' victory beam might as well stay lit around the clock.
Sacramento defeated the Detroit Pistons 137-129 on Sunday night to keep its winning streak alive at six games and counting. It’s the franchise’s first six-game winning streak since January 2005, and the team’s first 4-0 homestand since 2009.
Light that beam.
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“Fans have been showing up here in this building. They’ve had their heart broken for a very long time,” forward Harrison Barnes said after the win. “To deliver a level of competitiveness and consistency -- some people might take that as a given -- but I think anyone who has been in this locker room, been in this arena has known that always hasn’t always been the case.”
The Kings’ elite offensive attack scorched through the Cavaliers, Lakers, Warriors, Nets, Spurs and Pistons by scoring at least 120 points in all six games. Sacramento now is the highest-scoring offense in the NBA, averaging 120.1 points per game. That’s the most points per game by a team over the first 15 contests of a season since the 1984-85 Denver Nuggets (123.4).
“We’re getting better. We’re getting more consistent,” Barnes said. “Coming into this arena and leaving with happy feelings multiple nights in a row -- I’ve been here almost five years and it hasn’t been the case. It’s nice.”
Yes, the Kings showcase their high-powered offense in the win. The other end of the floor, however, wasn't pretty. Detroit, down two key players in Cade Cunningham and Saddiq Bey, controlled most of the game. Detroit finished the game shooting 52.8 percent from the field and 51.7 percent from deep. Sacramento had no answers for rookie Jaden Ivey, who logged 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting and tied a career high with four 3-pointers on four attempts.
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“I think it’s always exciting to go on a win streak, especially to do it at home,” guard De’Aaron Fox said Sunday night. “If we’re on the road, we probably don’t even win that game, especially the way that we were defensively.”
The Pistons held a five-point lead with five minutes to play. But in front of a sellout Golden 1 Center crowd -- an announced record attendance of 17,866 on a Sunday afternoon -- the Kings buckled down. They didn’t get many -- or any? -- stops all night but did enough in crunch time to blast those four purple laser beams toward the Sacramento night sky.
The Kings were playing catch-up all game long, but the star power of Fox, Kevin Huerter and Domantas Sabonis finally overmatched a young Pistons team down the stretch. In the last five minutes, Huerter scored eight points and nailed two 3-pointers, Sabonis grabbed two key offensive rebounds and Fox received "MVP!" chants while he drained a pair of win-clinching free throws in the closing minute.
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“It’s good to get out of there with a win, even when we are not playing our best and they're making shots,” Fox said. “Learn a lesson but win the game.”
Fox had another big night, going off for a game-high 33 points, his fifth game with at least 30 points of the season. He's averaging 24.0 points and 8.7 assists per game over the Kings' six-game streak.
"This is the best basketball [De'Aaron has] played in his career," Barnes said. "He’s playing at an All-Star level. He’s doing it on the offensive end, defensive end. Getting guys involved. Just all over the place, making plays happen. I think it’s a credit to him and the hard work he put on this summer."
Sacramento’s troubling 0-4 start to the season now is a distant memory. Those missed calls down the stretch against Miami and Golden State that robbed the Kings of a chance at two victories in overtime don’t sting as much as they once did.
There are plenty of lessons yet to be learned this season. An encouraging sign for coach Mike Brown's bunch is the ability to win ugly.
Brown wasn't pleased with the Kings' defensive effort at Golden 1 Center, but even he has to admit the "W6" in the standings isn't ugly in the slightest.